The present invention relates in general to electronic circuits and in particular to logic circuits.
The growth and maturity of the electronics industry has led to a variety of products that have changed the way people live and work. Electronic circuits are currently the dominant technology for creating products that move and shape information. In the world of electronics, information is typically represented by zeros and ones. Electronic representations of zeros and ones are referred to as digital signals. Electronic circuits process digital signals using logic circuits to perform a wide variety of functions.
However, as the electronics industry continues to grow, there is an ever increasing demand on the amount of information that must be processed by electronic circuits. Accordingly, the speed at which these electronic circuits operate has continually increased. An electronic circuit""s processing speed is determined by the frequency of the signals. For example, some electronic circuits carry out a processing operation on each rising edge of a system clock. These circuits are referred to as xe2x80x9csynchronousxe2x80x9d circuits. Therefore, the processing speed of the circuit will be determined by the frequency of the clock.
As the operating frequency of electronic circuits continues to increase, the timing relationships between signals can severely limit the performance of the system. For example, if a clock signal triggers the execution of a function requiring two digital input signals, the function will produce an erroneous result if the clock signal triggers the function before one or both of the digital inputs are available for processing. The time period during which a signal is typically stable is determined by the transitions of the signals. For example, if a circuit output signal transitions from a low voltage to a high voltage in response to a first set of inputs, and then from the high voltage to a low voltage in response to a subsequent set of inputs, then the output of the circuit will be stable for a period of time determined by the transitions from low to high and high to low voltages. However, typical logic circuits will have different transition characteristics in response to different sets of inputs, which can deleteriously affect timing requirements. Accordingly, there is a need for logic circuits with improved transition characteristics.
Embodiments of the present invention perform logical operations utilizing a symmetric logic circuit comprising two logic units. In a symmetric logic circuit, the circuit configuration used to process a first logic input in the first logic unit is the same as the circuit configuration used to process a second logic input in the second logic unit, and the circuit configuration used to process the second logic input in the first logic unit is the same as the circuit configuration used to process the first logic input in the second logic unit. The present invention may be used for logic circuits that perform a variety of logical operations, such as XOR, AND, NAND, OR, or NOR.
In one embodiment, a logic circuit comprises a first differential logic unit receiving first and second differential logic signals on first and second pairs of differential input terminals, respectively, the first differential logic unit performing a first logical operation on the first and second logic signals, and in accordance therewith, producing first differential output signals on a first pair of differential output terminals. The logic circuit also includes a second differential logic unit, receiving the second differential logic signals on a third pair of differential input terminals coupled to the second pair of terminals on the first logic unit, and receiving the first differential logic signals on a fourth pair of differential input terminals coupled to the first pair of terminals on the first logic unit, the second differential logic unit also performing the first logical operation on the first and second logic signals, and in accordance therewith, producing second differential output signals on a second pair of differential output terminals coupled to the first pair of differential output terminals. The present invention may be used for logic circuits that perform a variety of logical operations, such as XOR, AND, NAND, OR, or NOR.
The following detailed description and accompanying drawings provide a better understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention.